hawaii


Shades of blue on a Hawaiian summer evening

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wearing: bold silver earrings / sun hat / sunglasses / summer lipstick / bold silver necklace / blue ombre dress (on major sale!) / floral blue scarf / summer nail polish / blue bracelet / woven handbag / ivory wedge espadrilles /

One of the beautiful things about Hawaii, is how blue the water is! At home, our skies are often overcast or grey, so the water doesn’t look very colorful. In Hawaii, the close proximity to the equator, coupled with the crystal clear water, creates the perfect environment for incredible shades of blue.

This blue ombre dress I picked up from Chico’s was perfect for a Hawaiian dinner near the water. It evoked the same shades of blue seen in the Pacific Ocean waters of Hawaii. This blue floral scarf paired with the dress gave the look it’s overall island vibe. This was my favorite outfit of the trip!

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I love blue, but I also love dressing in theme with my surroundings. This dress evoked the perfect vibe for strolling on the streets of Hawaii during sunset, as well as dining by the beach.

Since this dress mimicked the ocean blue hues, I wore it for our family dinner at The Fish Hopper. This incredible restaurant is famous for it’s clam chowder and Mai Tai’s. While I skipped the Mai Tai, I did enjoy a cup of clam chowder, which for the record, was out of this world!

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The Fish Hopper sits across the street from the beach just a few steps away from our hotel in Kona. It offered a beautiful view of the ocean, and an incredible menu. My scallop risotto was out of this world, and everyone in my family really enjoyed their meals.

As it turns out, they have a location in Monterey! Who knew! So we can re-visit this delicious Hawaiian meal back home. Yum!

Shop my blue ombre dress and outfit:

Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for more from Hawaii!

Aloha!

Cathy

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Beautiful white sand beach on the Big Island of Hawaii

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Our trip to Hawaii’s Big Island was filled with a lot of sight-seeing, but we also made sure we had time to relax on the beautiful beaches near Kona. Since we were looking for beaches which were both relaxing and beautiful, we did a lot of research! We learned that one of the most beautiful beaches in Kona is Manini’owali along Kua Bay. It has white sand, black lava, and promises turtle and dolphin sightings. The beach is relatively straight, and offers an incredible view of the crystal clear blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

This is a well maintained beach with restrooms, showers, and free parking. The sand is white, the water offers beautiful shades of blue, and the lava creates a fabulous contrast between the white sand, blue waters, and black rocks. The parking is along the road into the beach area, so be sure to wear flip flops or shoes from the car to the beach.

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There isn’t very much shade, but if you are lucky, you can grab a spot under the one tree we could find. It was directly in front of the picnic benches when you walk onto the beach, you can’t miss it! We sat there with two other families, and it was perfect!

The waves at Manini’owali Beach get stronger as the day progresses; so it’s calm in the morning, but after lunch, don’t try to swim or boogie-board unless you are an experienced swimmer. While there were plenty of visitors at the beach, I did not see a life-guard on duty. Make sure you can handle being in the water; especially with waves!

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While we didn’t spot any of the promised turtles or dolphins, there was a seal lounging on the beach, living his best life. The rangers even made sure his area was blocked off, so he could truly live the VIP life on the beach. Must be nice to be a seal! Haha

I was feeling a little bit tired, so while my husband took the kids swimming, I took a nap on the beach, under the tree. It was incredibly relaxing.

Shop my Hawaiian beach outfit / tankini and cover-up:

Sometimes when you go on vacation, you just need to relax! That is exactly what we did at Manini’owali Beach. We swam, napped, and lived our best lives; just like the seal. We just didn’t have the roped off, VIP area like he did. haha

Thanks for stopping by!

Aloha!

Cathy

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The perfect Hawaiian sunset

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wearing: pearl earrings (purchased in Hawaii, similar pair here) / sunglasses / summer lipstick / floral top / black pants / summer nail polish / woven handbag / black mule espadrilles (super comfy!)

The sun sets every night in Hawaii, but it isn’t always visible. Some of the nights we spent in Hawaii offered us a cloud cover instead of a sunset. The missed sunsets were a moot point after viewing the one incredible sunset we experienced at Sam Choy’s just south of Kona.

We stumped upon this restaurant on our way back to our hotel after visiting Volcanoes National Park. We took the highway along the coast to travel the two hours back to our hotel, and along the way we passed huge flowers, macadamia farms, and no restaurants in sight! Haha

It was like an oasis appeared when we saw a large golf course and condo complex. Just beyond it we could see what appeared to be a small shopping center. We turned into the center and the first building we saw was Sam Choy’s! I could tell by the way it was perched upon the hill, the views would be incredible. I didn’t care what type of menu they might have, that was where we would eat; executive decision made!

No-one complained as parked and walked into the restaurant. It had a 230 degree view of the ocean; perfect for viewing a Hawaiian sunset. The hostess was really nice, and gave us a table with a view for dinner. We ordered our meals and ate slowly, so as not to finish before sunset. We needed to waste a little over an hour!

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We got lucky! The food was delicious, and after our meals, we ordered dessert. The desserts were equally divine, and kept us dining until sunset. The views of the sunset were unreal.

If you are planning a trip to the Big Island, be sure to pop into Sam Choy’s for dinner one night in order to enjoy the incredible sunset from your dinner table. It was heaven on Earth!

Shop my Hawaiian dinner outfit:

The rest of the trip we enjoyed clouds hiding the sunsets. We were so thankful for this beautiful view of the sunset over dinner at Sam Choy’s. It was the only sunset we needed to see.

Thanks for stopping by!

Aloha!

Cathy

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